I cannot, in good conscience, make an all time list of (what I’ll label) a fan favorite list of all time Seahawks with a player who forced a trade. Therefore my list wouldn’t have Wilson on it.
Russell Wilson, IMO, was/is the Alex Rodriguez of the NFL. When he was on his rookie contract, he grinded, he outworked everyone, antd the day he took the field as a rookie, he instantly made us a contender, which is something Tavares Jackson or Matt Flynn couldn't have done in their dreams. Same with A-Rod. His first contract before FA, he was a grinder, just worked at getting better.
Then, they got paid, and the money changed them both, for worse. They became white collar, and unlikeable. They alienated their teammates, and started acting like A list celebrities. A-Rod was able to still produce for longer, but in Russ's case, the constant punishment he took playing all those years behind garbage O-lines caught up to him, and the drop off was significant and swift.
With that being said, there's no way you can convince me that we don't go to consecutive Super Bowls and win one without him. If we don't draft him, the LOB teams would have been the Jeff Fisher Rams. They'd have gone 7-9 every year, and not even sniff the playoffs, let alone a Super Bowl, with Flynn behind center. He'd have gotten killed behind that line. Pete would have lasted 2 more years, tops, and John Schneider would probably be back in Green Bay right now. He made us relevant, and for that, he deserves to be on this list.
